History Won't Repeat
by theFTnatic
Summary: Reborned, Chizuru is still a demon along with her twin. Picked up by Kazama, they both became assassins. She had hoped not to meet her past companions, but now here she is, facing them again. Determined, she won't make history repeat.
1. chapter 1

Okamoto Daichi - Souji

Saito Hiroji - Hajime

Takada Eichi - Heisuke

Kikuchi Reiji - Sanosuke

Takeuchi Keigo - Shinpachi

Ogawa Mahiro - Toshizo

Watanabe Masanobu - Isami

Ueda Rikiya - Sannan

Ono Naritaka - Inoue

Matsuo Mototada - Kai

Miyazaki Shintaro - Ryunosuke

Iwasaki Ryoko - Chizuru

Iwasaki Ryokuro - Kaoru

OOOOOOOOOO

"Back in our past lives, we were estranged from each other. At one point, you came after my head." The 8 year old Ryoko stated as she gripped on the wooden sword tighter.

"Your point excatly?" Ryokuro questioned through gritted teeth, mirroring his twin's movements.

"Have you ever regretted your actions?" She asked him, a bead of sweat rolling down her face.

"I protected you all those time, but you never appreciated my efforts! If only you accepted your destiny as the new head of the Yukimura clan, all of this would have never happened. Uncle Kodo didn't have to die, we could have bring back our clan." Kaoru sneered as he went to attack her first.

Kazama leaned on the wall and watched the twins he once knew in their past lives fought each other. This was their first duel after training them for 3 years. He wondered himself why it took so long for them to face each other like this, it was Amagiri's idea. It was along the line of closure takes time or something. Yadda yadda, he was getting beyond bored even though the twin's bickering is of an interesting topic, but it was nothing new for him. He already knew of the Yukimura Twins conflicts, he wasn't that personally interested. Even if he's still after Chizuru, or rather known as Ryoko in this lifetime, this was between her and her twin.

"You both kept me in the dark! I didn't even _know_ that I was a female demon! A pureblood at that!" She replied with a harsh tone as she pushed Ryokuro back.

"You didn't have to know! You just had to follow us and we all could have been fine. _Better_ than fine!" He yelled and raised his sword.

"And let you use me like I was your puppet? _I object_!" Ryoko cried out and protected herself from her brother's swing.

She managed to stop avoiding and defending as she took Ryokuro's role as the attacker. Her movements were swift and sharp and didn't let her rage get in the way of dueling with her brother, wanting to win just to prove her brother that she was not a doll to be pushed around by other people. Not anymore, she didn't let herself to be so weak again.

Ryokuro fell on his back and opened his eyes to see his twin sister pointing her sword at his face. Both of them were panting but her face didn't seem to be tired. She looked fierce as she basked in her glorious victory. He grimaced and felt ashamed of himself while she threw away her sword carelessly.

"I have lost… so many people that I loved during that time. I was in great grief, Kaoru." She said in a solemn voice.

"I'm sure you were glad to see me dying!" He spat.

"You idiot, of course I wasn't glad to see you die! You were driven into madness and you having your memories, I'm afraid you're still obsessed with bringing back our dead clan. You're still so crazy on killing me. What I wanted for us in this life is to protect each other rather than only one protecting the other in the dark, the protected isn't even aware she had a watcher behind her." She told him while tears dropped on to his face.

"I wanted to get our stolen time back to spend it with each other as siblings! All I ever wanted was that you and I to reconcile, you big headed fool." She whispered as she slammed her fists to his chest.

"Even after all those time you had tried to kill me, hurt my precious friends, you're still my blood brother, then until now. How I hated the things you've done, but never hating you as a whole. All because you're my brother." She confessed fully and gripped on his clothe.

Ryokuro simply stared at his crying twin sister that was stradling him from the top. Kazama only stared at them emotionlessly. Kazama didn't understand what they were feeling, he didn't have siblings and he was brought up to be a stone cold leader for his clan. His clan always looked down to humans, he was taught to have no human feelings. He was taught to be satisfied, not happy. He was taught to be disaffected, not sad. He was taught to be virulent, not mad. Their feelings were more hollow than any other so they could stand tall and be as arrogant as they can be towards humans and lower demons.

But then there were the twins. There were Senhime and Kimigumi. Three of them were pureblood and only one was a lower class demon that has outstanding combat skills. Still, they were somewhat compassionate, driven by their hearts instead of their minds. Like Chizuru who loved her friends until the end, Kaoru who had looked after his twin and protected her from the shadows and Senhime who had tried to provide protection for Chizuru just because the latter had made an attempt to protect a stranger from harm. Kazama didn't understand them, his will is always driven by lust for power. He pursued Chizuru because of her bloodline, he wanted her to bear his child.

"You're the idiot here. I'm not so crazy anymore to try to revive the Yukimura clan, that clan is dead. The reason why I wanted to kill you was because of the will to revive our lost clan, maybe it also includes the fact that you would rather be with lowly humans than your own blood related brother who had loved you deeply for a long time. The reason why I had hurt your friend is the same thing, for our clan's revival and that they had stolen you away from me and Uncle Kodo _. It wasn't fair,_ it wasn't fair because I protected you first, I was the one that watched over you for all those time!" He yelled and stood up, holding tightly to her shoulders.

"But the reason why I was ignoring you all these time is because I was contemplating, Chizuru. I contemplated my past actions. I realized that I was wrong, but I still resented you for choosing someone else over me, your twin brother. But, it doesn't change the fact I was trying to get you involved in a stupid, dangerous scheme…" He explained further and his grip loosened.

"But have you came to a decision for us, Kaoru?" She whispered and didn't let go of his hakama.

His hands went up to her tear-stained cheeks and wiped her tears away gently.

"I did, I did just now. I have decided that I want to mend our relationship. I still love you no matter what, even if that stupid head of yours would never remember our past memories when we treated each other like actual siblings." He smiled.

Ryoko's lips quivered and planted her face to his chest. His arms wrapped around her shaking body and rested his head on top of hers gently. Kazama let out a deep sigh silently and decided to step out of the room. As he walked through the door, Amagiri stood before him at the other side and Kazama grimaced.

"Was this what you intended to happen?" Kazama harshly asked.

"Yes, Lord Kazama. They are twins with a tragic story, I am only trying to help them."

Amagiri is wise, everyone knew that. He could foresee everything and always approaches problems with ease, never resorting to violence immediately unlike Kazama and Shiranui. Ever since Kazama took the twins under his care, Amagiri sensed there was clearly a wall between Ryoko and Ryokuro. You might call it being nosey, but it was their new beginning, their new life, they shouldn't get stuck in their past and let it get in the way of their bond. Ryokuro should have known better than resenting his own sister for her own decision. Her past decision was the right decision but Ryokuro was Nagumo Kaoru at the time, he was driven by the will of reviving his past clan. For Nagumo Kaoru, her decision on choosing the Shinsengumi over him was a complete betrayal but for Iwasaki Ryokuro, he understood that her decision saved the world from a tragedy. He admitted his foolishness but it hurt that the sister he loved turned her back to him, even after all his of sacrifices he did to protect her from the dark. Still, she's still the sister he would die protecting.

"An older brother is a fool for his sister. You don't know that for you are an only child, Lord Kazama." Amagiri said and let his Lord walk past him, giving Amagiri a sinister glare.

OOOOOOOOO

"Ryoko!" Ryokuro called out as he ran towards his sister.

"Kuro?" She said and turned her head to her back to see if it was really her 16 year old twin brother.

"We got another work. Gear up, it's a hard one." Ryokuro told her in a serious tone.

Ryoko nodded and entered her room without another word. She had gotten used to the works she and her brother was given. Although they were hard, you should always expect no less from their boss, which was Chikage Kazama. It surprised her that he was working with the government. She had asked him about it before when she was younger, to him simply answering her it was because he owed a clan another debt. It wasn't his personal debt but of course his clan's. Again. Ryoko had to bit her lip, gulping down the question about why he has so many debts to the creatures he despised. Then again, it's not like he could back out. A demon keeps his words, a debt is to be repaid ten folds.

She tied up her waist lengthed hair as the finishing touch and wore her gloves. It was nothing fancy, just a simple black button down shirt worn with a black blazer over it. Her pants were long, black and fitting, hugging her legs comfortably. Following the rules, she placed a red band at her left arm. The look was controversial, but it is according to the code. White bands for underlings, green bands for squad leaders and red for lone wolves that work directly under their boss. Ryoko wasn't exactly a lone wolf, she and Ryokuro would often work together but there are also times she works solo, being apart from her twin brother.

"You done?" He knocked.

Ryoko gave herself one last look in the mirror and let out a sigh before walking to the door to open it. She met again with her brother and they both went along with their work. Like almost everyday, she convinced herself that her work was for the government. Everything she did, whether good or bad, it was for their country.

But she didn't really like being an assassin.

She gripped on the hilt of her sword and gulped down her saliva, a sweat rolling down her face.

OOOOOOOOO

"I can't believe we have to work apart. I can't believe I have to stick with that bastard Chikage! Take my place Ryoko, I can't stand that guy!" Ryokuro snarled.

Ryoko chuckled and tried to calm down her brother. Without asking for their permission first, Kazama had made the decision to let those who he owed a debt to have Ryoko and Shiranui. Ryokuro was beyond upset that he had to work away from Ryoko as he had to accompany Chikage to somewhere, probably another long-ass monthly demon meeting. Chikage would never bring Ryoko and Ryokuro with him as he took other people before them. They knew the reason of course, it was because of their young age. Now that the twins are 21, they can accompany their boss to the meeting, but he could only bring two at a time. Only heaven knows why Shiranui wouldn't come with them and the fact it's clear that Amagiri is to be by Chikage's side 24/7 if he can. From she heard from Shiranui's endless bickering with Chikage and Amagiri, he and his clan didn't have a good relationship with the true demon lord.

So it became a tradition for Chikage to bring red band-ers with him every month. Who knows, maybe Ryoko might be the one to accompany him to the next month's meeting. Not maybe, but that was already a given. It is still rare for a female demon to exist, so maybe Chikage would avoid her for a while. As she rubbed her brother's shoulders, someone had to jump in to ruin Ryokuro's mood more. It was none other than the other insufferable bastard Ryokuro had to face, Kyo Shiranui.

"I have to admit that I pity you, boy. The monthly meeting is always so fucking boring, then you also have to handle a pompous prick like Chikage. Your luck couldn't get any worse." Shiranui mocked as he shook with laughter.

"Shut it, Shiranui. First of all, stop calling me boy because I'm 21 now, you dumbass. Second, don't pity me, I don't need 'em. If it's about something that I would need, is you to suck it up and go to that stupid meeting. We red bands hate coming along with him just to stand beside their boss for a full 5 fucking hours. You on the other hand, you could take your seat because you have your own clan like Amagiri." Ryokuro glared sharply at Shiranui.

"Screw that. That Lord is a fucking shitstick that I'd rather avoid than to face with. He's like Chikage, but a thousand times worst. You're only an escort from the Kazama Clan, he wouldn't try to talk to you but he'd be so glad to ridicule me and my clan just because of a past rivalry. Why the hell did they vote him to be the successor of the previous Lord? He's so fucking irritating to deal with." Shiranui's face turned sour and spat at Ryokuro.

"Oh please stop fighting, I'm tired of it. I'm already getting headaches." Ryoko sighed and held her brother's shoulder.

"Not apologizing. Your twin said something so obviously stupid, I had to retaliate." Shiranui coldly answered and crossed his arms above his chest.

Steps were heard and Ryoko didn't have to look to know who it was. Were. Chikage and Amagiri were walking, the bigger one walking slightly behind Chikage, toward the three. They had their usual poker faces as they approached them. Chikage had ditched his modern clothes and wore the traditional japanese male clothing instead. Amagiri though never adorned the modern clothing, so they were already stuck with his usual appearence that was consistently so for hundreds of years. Shiranui had said something about it, Ryoko and Ryokuro too, even Chikage. He ignored them and didn't change his appearence at all. He didn't understand why he needed to, it was pointless in his eyes.

"Are you done bickering with Shiranui, _boy_? We need to go now." Chikage asked him in his monotoned voice.

"What's with you guys always calling me ' _boy_ '?! I'm 21 for fuck's sake and that's the legal _adult_ age in Japan." Ryokuro erupted and crossed his arms.

"Compared to us, you _are_ a little boy. We are immortal, we're hundred years older than you. It's a pureblood thing." Shiranui told him and smirked.

Before Ryokuro could argue more he was pulled by Amagiri to being forcedfully dragged to the stupid meeting. Ryoko had smiled to say her goodbye and he grumpily answered her with a low voice. He would always be upset about this, right? Ryoko laughed a bit and turned around.

"Well, those three idiots are gone now. Why don't we ditch our mission and go to clubs instead." Shiranui suggested as the smirk he wore never leaving his face.

"Go ditch it by yourself. I'm not getting myself into Amagiri's wrath, not that I've ever experienced his wrath before." Ryoko answered maturedly and walked away.

"Fine. Let's gather the underlings and move already. Fuck ton of work is gonna get me thirsty for some booze and women, maybe you could satisfy me with the latter." He eyed Ryoko.

"And you getting beaten by Chikage for beating him on producing a full fledged demon." Ryoko smiled knowingly.

"Hah! Some fucking ain't gonna hurt anybody, Iwasaki." Shiranui barked.

"Let's get to work already, Kyo."

OOOOOOOOOOO


	2. Chapter 2

Ryoko stared at the tall buildings in disdain. It was a 5 hour trip by car, even that made her feel drained. She was even impatient and irritated, something rare for her to feel. Shiranui slammed the car door shut and followed his now second in command's action, glaring at the tall buildings irritatedly. Frankly, they had no choice, Chikage had agreed to merge their headquarters together for some reason, and the new HQ was too damn far away from theirs. It was 10 a.m. if they remembered precisely. The journey took 5 hours so it was probably 3 in the afternoon by now. Amagiri had warned them of a long journey, but 5 hours was 4 hours too many for them to go through. Hell, why were they the ones that have to move, the other party were some lowly humans after all!

"Wipe that sour face away and let's get on to it. We have to meet the ones that lead this organization." Ryoko told Shiranui and massaged her forehead.

"You first, kid." His voice grumpily commanded.

"First, we need to- Matsumoto! Come here!" Ryoko yelled out for the fellow red band.

"What is it, Iwasaki." He simply asked.

"We have to meet up with the chairman and his men right now. Can you please lead the other squad leaders and their squads while we're gone? You guys are to be directly sent to the east wing which is right over there. You'll meet a rep once you enter. Can you do that for me?"

"You can count on me." He smirked and saluted her before turning around to carry his given duty.

Ryoko observed them intently before walking into the main building with Shiranui walking ahead of her. It would be clear for the other party to know that Shiranui was the one in charge of their organization because of their clothes. Shiranui wearing a white shirt that left three top buttons unbuttoned, a black blazer over it and a pair of matching black pants while Chizuru was more proper, the red band she wore around her arm could indicate she was a SIC for Shiranui. The way they walked would give the clear signs too. Shiranui walked like he how he would always walk- arrogantly, and Chizuru's movements were more tight and stiff.

"Kazama Chikage, if I'm not mistaken." A deep voiced called out to them.

"Nope, you've mistaken. The prick Chikage has left for an important business and he left me, Shiranui Kyo, in charge until he returns. Thought he told you that already." Shiranui answered arrogantly as his left hand gripped on his hip.

"Since when-" A heated voice was heard until he was cut off.

"It is true, a rep had called us beforehand and told us the situation, specifically mentioning that Shiranui Kyo was to be in his place while Kazama Chikage's busy." A rather calm voice intruded and explained everything to them.

The chairman of the other organization asked his men why he wasn't informed but a voice answered him that he was informed, he just forgot about it. She heard a sheepish chuckle and Ryoko let out a deep, silent sigh. Chikage had told her that she was going to meet them, but she still wasn't ready. To clash with her past like this, she couldn't really face them after the things that had happened with them. Closing her eyes, she turned around and followed the direction where Shiranui was facing. Bowing down, she greeted them properly unlike how Shiranui rudely replied to their calling.

"I am Iwasaki Ryoko, Shiranui Kyo's SIC for the time being."

"Oh, a girl?" A wry voice chimed.

She knew it too well.

She raised her body and looked at them with steady eyes. She had to hide the swirl of emotions inside her when she saw their faces. They didn't change at all. They were still the same people that she had yearned for all the 21 years she lived. There was the same Shinsengumi warriors she fell in love with. Her heart throbbed and she tried to get rid of the urge to just run into their arms. Not like their arms were open for her to run in anyways. Shiranui rudely introduced himself to them and they went right into business. The two were lead into a meeting room where a long table was placed inside, and a total of 40 chairs that were fit in.

Shiranui sat at the end of the table and the reincarnations of the Shinsengumi warriors sat at his opposite. They were… quite far apart from each other. A sweat rolled down Ryoko's face and she silently sighed again, as if things couldn't get any more tense than it is right now. She stood at Shiranui's right, being behind his seat. The reincarnated Kondo Isami, or as he goes by the name of Watanabe Masanobu in this lifetime looked at Ryoko's standing figure.

"Iwasaki, was it? You don't need to stand, you could take your seat beside Shiranui over there." He pointed at the seat beside Shiranui politely.

"Thank you for offering, but there's no need. I am used to standing during a meeting." She slightly bowed.

"Well, it actually depends for me because I'm not Chikage. Is this meeting going to last for more than an hour?" Shiranui asked as he rested his left elbow on the table.

"If we would start right away, we would end this meeting after 15 minutes, more or less." Saito Hiroji said.

"15 minutes of standing won't kill her. Let's start right away." Shiranui snorted as he met his eyes with Ryoko's steady ones.

Shiranui smirked at her and she narrowed her eyes, signaling him _not_ to push it. She knew that he finds this situation amusing for him. Back in the past, she would be the one standing beside the Shinsengumi warriors while Chikage would relentlessly try to steal her from them. Now, look at how the tables have turned. It's more funny because those warriors don't even know that they failed to protect their precious Chizuru from Chikage. That they had lost her to him. His smirk never seemed to leave his face throughout the whole meeting, him being smug that for once, it was no more a tie for him and Sanosuke, but instead, Shiranui was the one that succeeded.

Kikuchi Reiji seemed to caught Shiranui's steel eyes at him and wondered why that bastard looked so smug, especially directing that smugness _specifically_ at him. Everyone in the room took notice of it, making Ryoko resist the urge to slap Shiranui's head in anger. Daichi found it interesting, Eichi and Keigo found it irritating, Mahiro, Rikiya and Hiroji found it suspicious, Masanobu, Mototada and Naritaka found it flat-out _weird_ and _disturbing_. Even if he would occasionally speak up and meet the other captains' eyes, they could still feel something from him directing at Reiji.

At the end, both parties had to sign a contract and the meeting finally ended. The two demons walked out first, Ryoko trying to not yell at Shiranui. The male found her anger to be entertaining because it wasn't everyday you could see _her_ getting irritated. He knew she was extra cranky because of the journey and he admitted that his weird actions in the meeting was triggered by the same cause too. Something about traffic jams made their mood darker than usual. Because of the fact that the two demons were moody, the other party found them both to be… uncomfortable to be around with.

"Their tea sucked, whoever made that tea needs to get fired." Shiranui said emptily and let Ryoko walk beside him since the meeting already ended, indicating that there's no need to get into super formal mode for now.

"I wouldn't know, didn't taste it. But I'm sure it was actually decent, because you're nothing but a spoiled-ass brat. An insufferable one at that." She gritted.

Shiranui smirked again. His disturbing staring at Reiji probably riled her up, especially when she's still cranky from that long car ride. He enjoyed every moment of it, irritating everyone around him gives him a sense of victory of some sort. Ryoko really wanted to yell at him for being so annoying, but then she remembered he was a demon that was raised to be a proper demon. Unlike Senhime, his clan's belief was similar to Kazama's. They were nothing more than hollow beings, finding pleasure in the most vile way possible. The situation he created wasn't vile, but troubling for her. He knew she was not ready to face _them_ yet and he still had the gall to do such a thing.

"Hah! I managed to get you more cranky than after the moment you exited the car. Sweet, calm Iwasaki Ryoko can get aggravated after all!" He barked out a boisterous laughter.

"Maybe that's because you're as vexing and relentless as Chikage would be." She spat and snapped her eyes at his.

"But I got my own special reaction from you. That cranky expression you're wearing is once in two hundred years, Iwasaki, I like it." He flashed his teeth at her.

"I should've took Kuro's offer, I'm regretting this already." She muttered under her breath and scratched her hair in an irritated manner.

Unbeknownst to the both of them as they bickered more and more, forgetting the world around them, the Sakura Organization listened to everything they had said and was surprised that the ever so arrogant and hard Kazama Chikage let the both of them to represent his group. For all they knew, that green haired demon was strict and cold like Mahiro, but the people he sent defied their view of the people that was led by Chikage. Shiranui was one weird bastard, boisterous and as arrogant as Chikage. His SIC seemed to be steady and eyes cold and unbreakable as steel to them, but the minute she walked out of the meeting room she made a complete 180 degrees turn. Seemingly an easily irritated person with Shiranui.

But what stopped them in their tracks was how she called Chikage. They could understand on Shiranui's part but for someone that was nothing more than a red band, she called Kazama Chikage like he was a longtime friend or something. Chikage was ruthless to those who are under him, so was Shiranui's SIC someone more significant than they had thought to be?

"I thought Kazama's underlings would be more… robotic and cold. Well, controlled. The SIC really did meet my expectation but the moment the meeting ended, her air around her changed. She even had the gall to talk to Shiranui so casually." Reiji analyzed

"Maybe they were friends." Eichi suggested simply.

"Friends? In the Kazama Group, even family members are cold to each other. Those with a higher position are to be ruthless to the ones under even _if_ they used to be friends. For Kazama to send Shiranui as his rep, then he must have a high position in their group, even calling Kazama by his first name. The one that surprises me the most is the SIC, she openly called that Kazama guy 'Chikage' to her superior Shiranui, indicating that she's somewhat significant to Kazama Chikage." Daichi leaned on the wall and crossed his arms, opening one eye to spy on the weird duo with a curious smile dancing on his lips.

"If this intrigues you all so much then go get Sugiyama to investigate, he's not our most trusted spy for nothing." Rikiya smiled at them.

"Heh, for something as this trivial, you would be wasting Sugiyama's work. Go get him to investigate something else, the relationship within the Kazama Group is none of our concern." Mahiro coldly answered.

"Awh, our precious Vice Chairman Ogawa is acting like he doesn't care, when it's _very_ obvious that he does." Daichi teased the Vice Chairman of the Sakura Organization.

"Daichi you brat, come here and let me-"

"Not happening." Daichi's wry voice sang as he escaped from Ogawa's wrath.

Ryoko was right, nothing about them changed. Even if it's been _two hundred years_ since she faced them.


	3. Chapter 3

Something about that particular SIC fascinated Daichi. She seemed so familiar to him too, he just can't understand why. There are millions of girls that are similar to her appearance and her personality, but her only, she seemed to intrigue him. Shiranui seemed to be smitten with her too, he also looks like he holds a big pride of having her at his side. Daichi didn't understand why because based on Sugiyama's reports, Shiranui didn't care enough to have friends, constantly treating other people like trash.

He observed the two discussing about something and this time, more seriously. After a few days since their arrival, they discovered Ryoko was not an easily irritated person, she was steady and calm, like still water. A red tinted water. Because of the red band she wore at her arm, it indicated that she's done the most dirty works she was ordered to do. From Sugiyama's report, a red band within the Kazama Group are the highest ranked dogs, the most dangerous lone wolves that were directly under Chikage himself.

So her hands were stained with blood, the most wanted blood. To have specially reserved assassins under the boss means that they were specially groomed to do the dirtiest work, like getting rid of a high ranked enemy or something like that. Just recently, the Kazama Group took care of a corrupt politician, Daichi wondered if Ryoko was the one that slit the guy's throat. Sugiyama showed them pictures of the corpse of the politician and it was gruesome. Masanobu's face instantly turned green looking at the picture. The head was almost severed from the body caused by a clean cut of a sword.

Daichi imagined Ryoko doing it, slitting the politician's throat with those cold steel eyes of hers.

He shook the image off and remembered more of Sugiyama's reports. Just days before the Kazama Group arrived, Sugiyama was given the order to investigate the leader as they only knew of the nature of the well-known Kazama Group. Unfortunately for them, the said man was _really_ closed off, Sugiyama only getting the name and the rumors that surrounded the leader of the group.

Kazama Chikage, in his mid-twenties, the leader of the Kazama Group. Rumored to be ruthless, arrogant and cold, kills without hesitation, keeps a promise and would always repay a debt tenfold. Origin unknown.

The information Sugiyama gathered was so limited, it felt like they were briefed about him. They were suspicious of him and his group, because all of the things they heard about them were not so… pleasant. Having the #1 most secretive and deadliest group in Japan walking freely around their HQ was not so comfortable. But why do they have to have a say in it, the Sakura Org. came in #2 for the most deadly organization in Japan. They were a service, of some sort, for the government. They do the dirty works too but the trail of corpses that the Kazama Group left behind could scar people for the rest of their lives.

"Chikage is returning today, along with the other two." Ryoko told Shiranui.

"I was informed. Seems like the Lord pissed him off, better expect him carrying a head around." Shiranui nonchalantly answered and set down his gun.

"I am expecting him to carry Lord Akagawa's head in here. From what I've heard from Kuro, swords were swung." Ryoko replied and read through the document again in case she missed anything vital.

"Only idiots try to piss him off. You do know the newly appointed Lord Akagawa is younger than Chikage, right? For Chikage, if you're younger than him, you better kiss his feet. Bastard's ego is through the roof." He whistled and snickered.

"As if your ego couldn't be competed with his, Shiranui. Which bastard are we talking about?" His SIC asked without looking at him.

"Both Kazama bastard and that Akagawa bastard. I admit I got a big ego, but it couldn't be compared with theirs." The tanned man claimed.

Daichi observed them from the shadows and felt confused with their conversation. Of course, a human like him doesn't know that what they were talking about involves the demon hierarchy. He doesn't even know that demons exist in their world, as the beings were only considered as an old outdated folklore in the 21st century. As he listened to their conversation, it sounds like Sugiyama's report about the rumors surrounding Kazama Chikage is true. Arrogant and kills without hesitation. Someone like that sounds like they don't hold any morals in their life, it made Daichi wonder why Chikage decided to benefit the government in the first place.

But then, the government doesn't hold any morals too. Back in the old times they did, but in the modern times, every decision they made was only for their increase in power. Daichi rewind his mind and tried to ask the real question. Why is a powerful group like the Kazama Group is willing to help the government? He tapped his finger against his chin and tried to answer the question that had surfaced in his mind. A sudden sound of things falling made him snap his head to the two demons.

"What's your problem?" Shiranui asked in a harsh tone.

"I just realized we were casually talking about Chikage carrying a head that he would severe. Do you know how disturbing that is?" Ryoko hissed and picked up the stack of paper that slipped from grip.

"Chikage has been keeping you in his care for 16 years, Iwasaki, talking about the things he would do is not peculiar within our group. Haven't you seen it in front of your eyes before? Chikage had killed your friends and your allies before he took you in, he didn't care if you were going to be scarred by your friends' deaths." Shiranui grimaced and pointed his gun at her head.

"You got something wrong. He didn't only kill my friends, he killed my family. While I am holding that grudge against him, I am indebted with him, Shiranui." She told him in a monotone voice and looked at him straight in the eyes.

"You still hold a grudge? That's not good for me to know, Iwasaki, you're making me question your loyalty to us." Shiranui smirked in a feral way.

A click was heard and Daichi could only hold his breath as he watched how things unfold. Was that girl throwing her life away? He suddenly felt compelled to help her but his mind rejected the idea. Daichi grabbed on his head and tried to know the reason why he was suddenly protective over her. This was a conflict that was within their group, he didn't have the right to interfere. But that Shiranui guy really looked like he was going to shoot her in the head, so why isn't she responding to keep herself alive? He faced away and expected the worst.

 **Speak up, dammit! Do you want to die?** Daichi's inner voice yelled.

"I am not loyal to you, as for now, I'm not loyal to _anyone_. The reason why I'm being his dog is because of my debt to him, and the thought of repaying that debt is the only thing in my mind. Pull that trigger and you know you have done something against Chikage's orders." She narrowed her eyes.

"Too bad I don't really care about Chikage. I got my own debt to the government and he got his. We're only an alliance, I'm _not_ under him." He told her as his finger were inching closer to the trigger.

"Fine, then do it." She spat.

Daichi's face lost all of it's color. He waited for a few seconds, but there was no sound of gunshot at all. Cautiously, he turned his head slowly to them and tried to uncover what was happening. He widened his eyes and saw Shiranui shaking in laughter as Ryoko scratched her head in an irritated way. She was scowling and putting the collected papers on the table as Shiranui smirked went wider than it would be, almost looking like a sadistic grin. The tanned individual rested his palm on her head.

"You got guts, kid. You reminded me of that Harada guy when he was alive." He ruffled her hair.

Ryoko was eerily silent and didn't respond to him. She sat down on her seat and began analyzing the documents again. Daichi figured that Shiranui might have mentioned _something_ that made her go so quiet. If he wanted to be more specific, _someone_. If he backtracked their dialogues, Shiranui said that Chikage had killed her friends and family right in front of her, so maybe the guy he mentioned was one of them. Daichi smirked, he was collecting more information than Sugiyama did. Although it could be deemed useless to Mahiro, Masanobu would've wanted to hear it. Anything about Kazama Chikage. His eyes flickered in realization when he remembered something else. That Shiranui said that Chikage was in debt with the government and so was he. It also turns out that they were only an alliance so Shiranui's got his own group to lead.

"How long are you going to stand there?" He heard Shiranui call out.

Wasting no time by hesitating, he turned his head to them.

Shiranui's eyes were staring right into his.


	4. Chapter 4

Ryoko would like to think when the past and the future meet, it was to better the things that have happened. Ryoko grew up under the Kazama's clan care for 16 years now so she should have known better than to be optimistic. The life of a warrior is not to expect the best nor to expect the worst too. It was to fight for what you want and what you have desired will come to you as a reward. Never expectations, just a burning, passionate will that drives you to go on and on.

Now, it was Ryoko's will to avoid aggressive confrontations that was caused by Daichi's careless snooping around. But what could he have known, the whole Kazama Alliance were demons under the unsuspecting covers. A silent sigh escaped her lips as she held Kyo's hand that was gripping the gun in his holster. A firm look in her eyes was all what Kyo needed to play with her emotions once more.

Kyo smirked and shoved her hand back. He didn't want to fight the human anyways, he just wanted to rile Ryoko up by making an impression he would like to fight him. The female demon gritted her teeth when she realized it, Kyo basking in his victory.

"Shiranui, I hate you with every fibre in my being." Ryoko proclaimed as she closed her eyes and massaged her temple.

"It's a love-hate relationship for me, Ryoko." Shiranui grinned and sassily held his hip.

"Maa, leaving me out of the conversation? I'd say I really dislike the both of you, especially you, Shiranui-san." Daichi smiled with his eyes closed and dropped his band from holding his sword.

Ryoko constricted herself from feeling anything as he said that and stopped massaging her temple. She'd suppose Daichi is seeing them as a threat. What he heard wasn't pleasant at all. Both just casually talking about how Chikage would bring a head into their department. She looked at him with conflicted feelings and felt that in the deepest part of her heart, she knew Daichi still would do anything for the reincarnated Kondou. She admires him for it but she'd do anything to steer away from her name being written in his blacklist.

The last thing she wants is Daichi finally realizing he's Okita Souji in his past life after killing her.

But he would feel no remorse or guilt for killing her for Kondou's sake. She was never the top of his priority in the past. Number one was Kondou, two was the Shinsengumi and third was killing the people who would stand in their way. She understood that she was probably bottom or she was never anything to him to begin with, but how should she know? Souji's mind was never anything a naive person could figure out and Chizuru back then was more than naive, she was innocent, unstained and most of all- she was overly dependant.

Well, after being under the Kazama's clan for 16 years, the pureness of her past self was erased. Washed away in the trail of blood that was behind her. Maybe even before that, maybe even before she died as Chizuru. After all, it wasn't like she'd never killed anybody as Yukimura Chizuru before.

She could place her bets that the bodies Chizuru had to count made her madder as the number went higher, but her sanity was still intact because it was regarding the fact she killed them to get rid of the hazard that was left behind to bring chaos, after Koudo created them then abruptly died in the hands of the helpless Chizuru.

Ryoko felt like her self-loathe was getting stronger ever since she met the reincarnated Shinsengumi captains and she knew Ryokuro (she just knows Amagiri would too) will give her an earful once he realizes that.

The sudden sound of frantic footsteps reached their sensitive ears and from Ryoko's right, a hand gripped on her shoulder tightly. She turned her head slightly to see it was a green band, a female like her- Kazama Kagura -from the ever so large Kazama clan. Her line of family always served as bodyguards for the main family, from what Ryoko had learned.

"It's Chikage-sama, he's about to arrive. He's given the orders to see you two first before he could meet the other side's reps." She told her, amusing Daichi as her voice sounded steady even after running to get them both, for like, 4 floors? He had to learn how the Kazama group trained their assassins, their stamina were exceptional.

"We'll get there. Geez, Chikage wouldn't move his heavy pompous ass unless we really do meet him down there." Shiranui groaned in annoyance.

Ryoko only nodded and turned on her heels, quickly getting into action. Kagura followed after her, not bothering to wait for her superior Shiranui. It wasn't a mystery that after growing accustomed to the Iwasaki twins, the Kazama clan members that were involved with the organization had took a subconscious liking to them both. The Kazama clan was always closed off to outsiders but Ryoko's kindness and Kuro's immense love for his younger twin sister moved them for a slight bit. Kagura was just 3 years older than the twins so she trained alongside them and grew acquainted to them both, especially Ryoko.

Ryoko was endearing to be around with. The clan did erase the naivety in Ryoko, her innocence and the blinds she wore as she looked at the world in black and white, but her kindness was still intact. They only matured her and widened her view of the world. Ryokuro on the other hand was snarky at first and loathed everyone around him, at some point he even hated his own sister that he now fiercely protects and loves. Ryokuro eventually matured too along with his sister as he grew and his opinions he had as Nagumo Kaoru became something he was ashamed of. He understood how foolish he was and vowed to never be clouded by selfish desires ever again.

Speaking of Ryokuro, Ryoko accidentally slipped out a small smile when she sensed her twin's presence and didn't notice she wore that smile all the way through the building. Kagura smirked to herself when she noticed it and wanted to rub and pinch Ryoko's cheeks because of the fact she found the petite brunette so _cute_.

She stepped out of the front gates to greet the three that just came back from the monthly meeting. Her small widened when Ryokuro presence embraced her in a small gust of a warm blue breeze. The whole Kazama Group we're perfectly lined up to greet Chikage. Green hued golden hair were blown everywhere by the wind. There were some maroon and a dark shade of pure golden hair from the Matsumoto and Sakurada clan respectively. Both clans were branch clans from the Kazama clan.

Kagura took her place in the line as Ryoko and Shiranui walked directly to the black car. A man stepped forward and opened the car door. Ryokuro got out first, then came along Amagiri adorning his usual traditional garments and finally, the man that Sakura Organization have waited for all these times- Kazama Chikage, in the flesh. He looked almost regal in his elaborate traditional garments. To Ryoko, it was not an unusual sight. The garments he wore was what he always wore in the past, but still, she couldn't deny how regal he looks every time he wears them.

Ryoko's warm smile dissipated and she now looked ready for business. They were greeting Chikage after attending his meeting, a warm smile wasn't suitable to wear while greeting your demon boss around the other demons.

"Chikage-sama. We're glad that you have finally made it." Ryoko bowed with the coldest smile she ever wore.

Ryokuro followed her actions and bowed to Shiranui, mirroring his sister's unsettling smile.

 _"Glad to see you again, Shiranui-san."_

OOOOOOOO

"Glad to see you again, Shiranui-san." They heard the Ryoko clone bow to Shiranui.

They were slightly surprised to see that the rumors were true. Ryoko really does have a twin brother. When they smiled that cold smile together, there was no denying it, it was like one of them was looking into the mirror. Now Eichi was getting creeped out more and more by it.

"How are you, Ryoko?" Chikage asked as his eyes narrowed at her.

"I don't know how to answer that question, Chikage-sama." Ryoko closed her eyes in an attempt to seem coldly blithe with her smile widening.

Chikage kept on staring at her and then decided to look at Shiranui.

"How has it been for us, Shiranui?"

"We're good. Everything about the merge is going smoothly as you had wanted, Chikage. Would you mind taking your place to represent your own group now?" Shiranui asked him in an annoyed manner.

Chikage maintained silence as he took steps to stand in front of his entourage. The other side's reps took that as a sign to finally greet him formally. Kondou was in front of them all, though Toshiro, Inoue and Kai were close behind. Ryokuro stepped to stand beside Ryoko and felt her going rigid. He brushed his arm against hers in a delicate manner. When Ryoko felt her twin attempts to soothe her, she gladly took it. Her shoulders went from tense to slacked, inside her heart she was thankful that they were given a second chance as siblings in this new life.

The sight of her beloved warriors facing the man who gave her the opening to a redemption made her feel things. She was grateful for both sides. One side gave her a memorable life and the other side matured her and brought out her strengths. But in the past, they were enemies. They fought against each other just because they were on opposing sides. She knew the Shinsengumi warriors hated the demons' guts when Chikage thought they weren't worthy for Chizuru but if she was being honest with herself, she was the one that wasn't worthy for them.

"Kazama Chikage, I'm glad that we finally meet." The reincarnated Kondou smiled heartily.

"Our meeting was to take place no matter what, it's my duty as the head of the Kazama group." Chikage answered with that same _I've-got-a-long-stick-up-my-alley_ tone he always spoke with since 150 years ago.

Souji suppressed a frown, trying to avoid the sudden sense of familiarity he felt when he saw _and_ heard Chikage talking. Sure, the way he answered Kondou's greetings reminded him of Toshizo's way of speaking, but he felt like he heard Chikage's voice before… like he had met the head of the Kazama clan before. Well, he has to dig until he finds the bottom of it. He was becoming borderline uncomfortable with the new guests and this was Souji he was talking about, he was the one that made people feel uncomfortable, not the other way around.


End file.
